Vacant Emeralds
by voldemortharryslash
Summary: No one said that the Final Battle would be easy. No one said that everyone would survive. But what happens when someone does survive, and their grief is too much to bear?


**Title: **Vacant Emeralds

**Author: **VoldemortHarrySlash

**Disclaimer:** Nope, Harry Potter isn't mine… Though if he was.. Oh the things I could do with him! (mutters to self) no, no that type of rope would chafe too much. I wonder if handcuffs would work better..

**Rating:** PG-13 Now I don't think this is truly graphic or anything, but if I need to boost the rating, someone let me know

**Warning(s):** Book six spoilers, major character death!

**Summary:** No one said that the Final Battle would be easy. No one said that everyone would survive. But what happens when someone does survive, and their grief is too much to bear?

**A/N:** Now you'll have to bear with me. This is my first HP fanfic and I figured that I should write the Final Battle because, come on, every writer should write one! Well, maybe not _every_ writer…. Nevermind, I'm just going to shut up now…. Go ahead and read the story, I'm shutting up…. Yup, no more talking, well writing, for me… Actually, that doesn't work, because I did write more because I wrote the following… (trails off as noticing the impatient readers) Right… Well, read on!

**Vacant Emeralds**

His eyes were vacant: two pools of endless meadows that had withered and died. Everything around him was in ruins as far as the eye could see. Nothing moved, for he was the last of the living. Dead bodies were strewn every which way in the vast distance, the castle once known as Hogwarts was nothing more than rubble and the Forbidden Forest contained nothing more than stumps and charred remains. And in the middle of it all sat a bloody and battered Harry Potter.

The final battle had been ruthless to both sides. People fell left and right as the death toll continued to rise and the survivors continued to fall. Soon less than half were alive. Regardless of the brutal slaughtering going on around them, Harry and Voldemort soon found each other in the midst. When they confronted one another, all movement had stopped so that this momentous event could be witnessed.

It, of course, started out like all their previous quarrels had: with taunting.

"So the Great Harry Potter believes that he is capable of defeating the Greatest Wizard of All Time?" Voldemort sneered.

"Well, if you see him, will you point him out? Cause I certainly don't see anyone matching that description," the Boy-Who-Lived began to carefully maneuver himself around as the two circled each other. "However, Tom, the only person that could be considered as the 'Greatest Wizard of All Time' is already dead and nobody of his standard is even on this battlefield today."

Voldemort's crimson eyes narrowed slightly before a smirk crossed his features. "If Dumbledore was so great than why was it so easy to kill the old goat?"

Harry kept his face blank while he seethed inside at his enemy's casual reference of his mentor's demise. Pain laced up his arms as his nails dug into the soft flesh of his palms. Slightly relaxing his death-grip on his wand, he mentally berated himself on losing his composure, even if it was barely noticeable.

_Keep it together Potter. Remember what Sev tried to drill into your head: emotion is weakness. Anger will only lead you to make rash decisions and get you in trouble. Get a hold of yourself and don't let this snake-faced bastard get under your skin!_

At these thoughts, memories of Severus Snape's death flashed before his eyes. The man had killed Dumbledore at the end of Harry's sixth-year and, although it had taken a little while, he eventually believed Sev's story on the matter. He had been killed during a brief skirmish a week before Christmas: a Death Eater raid on a muggle town had been housing a few unfriendly surprises and Snape wasn't the only one to not make it back. The only consolation had been that he had taken his attacker with him into the great beyond. Harry remained the only one to know of the true nature of what happened and he didn't intend to go spreading it around.

"Pity I wasn't the one to do it," the Dark lord continued, oblivious to the silent battle raging in Harry's mind. "However it was so satisfying to see Snape shatter your trust and views. How hilarious that you actually believed him to be on your side. As if one such as he could ever be considered one of the _Light_," he spat out the word as if it were the most blasphemous, disgusting thing on the planet.

Harry inwardly smirked. _If only you knew. _Outwardly he sighed. "Do you ever shut up Tommy Boy or are you trying to stall your inevitable death?"

"Getting cocky now, hmm?"

"Nope, just stating a fact. Face it, you've tried to kill me how many times now? Five? Six? Seven, maybe? And each time you've failed miserably. I think it's time you checked the stats and found that they're in my favor, not yours."

"You arrogant child! You dare to mock Lord Voldemort!"

"In case you haven't been listening, I've been 'mocking' you for a while now. Glad to see you've joined us."

There was a stunned silence all around them at the comments that their "savior" had made. Neither of the two exchanging words noticed a thing.

Red eyes met emerald and the physical battle was on. Faster than the viewing audience could see, the two were throwing curses left and right, though none appeared to hit. There was no shield around the combatants and some of the spectators were taking the brunt of the missed attacks as a result.

A Death Eater behind Voldemort lost a limb, while another had all of her blood drained out of her cavities. An order member behind Harry had all of his bones incinerated and an auror was impaled on a twenty-foot spike through the rectum.

How long this continued, no one could be sure, as time seemed to stand still for these few moments. The end came fast, yet much too slow in a way.

In one fast move, Harry conjured a sword from the air and flitted towards Voldemort. Apparently he hadn't expected any form of muggle attacks, for he went down easily with no attempt at shielding.

With Harry's sword stuck straight through his stomach, the Dark Lord had looked up at him in shock. His eyes held a hint of an accusation in them, giving a distinct impression that they were saying: you cheated. Out of nowhere they acquired a strange gleam that seemed to say: if you can cheat, then so can I.

Before anyone could react, Voldemort threw his head back and spread his arms. A wave of magical backlash flew out from his body, killing all those viewing the show instantly. Bodies fell continuously, the trees that still stood crumbled and every building collapsed. Once all this was done, the wave came rushing back towards the duo and even though Harry saw it coming at him, he made no move to shield himself. In the back of his mind he had a vague thought of why he wasn't the first killed, seeing as he was the closest. But at the moment, he couldn't care because all of his loved ones lay dead around him.

The magical wave crashed into him, completely avoiding Voldemort altogether. However, instead of killing him like he was sure it would do, his body absorbed the magic. His eyes widened as he let his emotionless mask melt from his face when he felt the magic fuse with his own. He knew that with this much magic in his system he could very well be immortal.

Voldemort noted this with satisfaction and with his last breaths delivered his final taunt to his nemesis. "You may have killed me, but in the end, I've won. You'll live on but you'll be alone because everything you've ever known is destroyed and everyone you've ever loved is dead. Have a nice life." And Lord Voldemort fell to the ground in a heap, a smirk of triumph on his face.

Harry just stood there and stared ay the corpse of his dead foe. The comments ringing in his ears, he felt his heart clench at the thought and hurridly scanned the battlefield surrounding him. Not a single body stirred. Realization set in that everything Voldemort had said was true; he was alone.

With his strength leaving him, he collapsed to his knees and gave a heart-wrenching sob. Crystal tears dripped down his cheeks only to splash helplessly onto the ground. A shudder wracked through his body as his hand wrapped around the dagger strapped to his left thigh. He stared at the glittering blade with a strange sense of fascination. The small piece of silver was able to do so much damage if used properly and Harry found himself wondering if he should attempt it.

_Is it cowardice or selfish to want to end it? Can I even do it?_

He found that he questioned if anyone could be truly immortal and began to think that, even though he now had easily twice the amount of magic than before this fateful day, he surely wasn't immortal. Which led to the though of whether he wanted to continue his existence now that everyone was gone and his duty was completed. His eyes clouded with more tears. Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World, the Boy-Who-Conquered, raised his dagger and plunged it through his left breast.

A harsh breath escaped from his lips and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, Eyes falling shut, a serene look passed over his face before his body fell forward. The last thought that passed through his conscious mind before he succumbed to the darkness was fleeting.

_I guess I'm not infallible after all. Here I come Mum, Dad… Here I come everyone._

**A/N: **I know what you're thinking: Oh no! Not another author's note! Well this time, I'm only asking that you review and tell me if I should keep this as a one-shot like I had planned. If not, I was going to turn this into a AU story or Time-Travel fic. You decide! I only have to warn you that I am obsessed with Slash and if I continue this, it will more than likely end up as a slash fic. Also, I'm a full time student, so updates may take a while…. Okay, I really should shut my trap now, as nobody is probably reading this anymore….. (glances around) Maybe they're off reviewing! Yes that's it!


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